Tagged: Jonathan Papelbon

Revenge is sweet. After losing badly in the first two games against the Nationals, the Phillies came back with a walk-off win in 10 innings by beating ex-Phillie Jonathan Papelbon. As most fans are aware, Papelbon had nothing nice to say about Philadelphia when he left (and before he left, too). So it was great to hand him his first blown save of the year.

The celebration, however, began early with the Phanatic’s annual birthday bash. All the usual suspects were present.

As the game began, it was clear quickly that Charlie Morton was about to have another solid game. Nats hitters looked confused at the plate. Morton allowed only 1 run in 6 innings and struck out 6 batters.

But the offense was not doing much, as has been the theme this year so far. The Phillies scored only 1 run through 9 innings and that was a solo home run from Carlos Ruiz. It was his second of the year, which by the way, was his home run total in 2015.

So the Phillies defense had their work cut out for them. Also the replay monitors got quite a workout. The Phillies challenged 3 calls and won two of them. Those would turn out to be huge decisions.

Then in the 10th inning, Peter Bourjos doubled and then scored on a single from Andres Blanco to tie the game and watch Papelbon squirm as he blows the save. That brought Freddy Galvis to the plate, who smacked a double for the walk-off win, as Blanco scored. Check out the video from MLB:
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Is it just me, or is everyone glad 2015 is over? This was a rough year for Phillies fans, and unfortunately, 2016 does not look much more promising. But perhaps making a few New Year’s Resolutions will help set the tone in a more positive direction. These are my own personal resolutions, but they are open to all Phillies fans who wish to join me!

I promise not to cry every time I look over at second base and realize Chase Utley is not there….ok, maybe I will cry just a few times.

No matter how hard someone pushes me, I will not take performance enhancing drugs to improve my Phillies baseball viewing experience in what looks to be another bad year. Unless Valium counts, because I will need that to suppress my Utley crying episodes.

I will learn the names of all the new players…unless they suck. Then I make no promises.

I will attempt to keep my complaints about the new, extended protective netting at the ballpark to a minimum. I mean, WHY can’t people just pay attention to the game? Why do I have to suffer with my pictures being blocked by this annoying webbed crap? Ok, I think I broke that resolution already…

I will try not to make ageist remarks about the new GM, Matt Klentak. Is this guy even out of diapers yet? Oh, sorry…do-over: At least he is old enough to drink; he will be very thankful for that this year.

I will throw a party every time ex-Phillie Jonathan Papelbongets into a fight with one of his new Nationals teammates (or whatever team he gets traded to next). There will be open bar if the brawl involves Bryce Harper. This is going to be a super-fun year!!

Apparently, the Pope’s impending visit to Philadelphia has already brought blessings upon us. In preparing the proverbial landscape for the Holy Man’s visit, the Phillies finally released GM Ruben Amaro Jr. It is a papal miracle! I was tempted to go back to being a practicing Catholic after hearing the news, but the whole “thou shall not do anything fun” is still kind of in the way of that transition 😉

While I am thrilled that the Phillies may be making an attempt to move into the correct century with their baseball operations logic, I feel a little bit sorry for Amaro who spent practically his entire life with the team. He grew up in the area, his Dad played for and coached for the Phillies; Ruben also played for the Phillies and was even the bat boy as a youngster. That is a lot of time spent in one place.

But my sympathy has to end there. He made so many bad, disastrous moves over the years that it is hard not to rejoice at this news. Remember the Cliff Lee trade in 2009? What a mega-disaster that was! The Phillies probably would have gone the distance in 2010 if they had both Lee and Roy Halladay in the rotation. Instead, Amaro squandered that opportunity and got 3 horrible “prospects” who contributed nothing…except a cocaine arrest (Tyson Gillies) and multiple tantrums when they did not get their way (Phillippe Aumont).

The HUGE, ridiculous contracts given to Ryan Howard and Jonathan Papelbon were just a few other terrible moves Amaro made. Not to mention letting Ryan Vogelsong go in 2010 (he is now a multiple World Series champ) and trading Hunter Pence for next to nothing (he is now also part of the Vogelsong / Giants dynasty). And don’t even get me started on the $12 million he threw away on Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez who has been so bad in the minors that the Phillies finally took him off the 40-man roster. This year, he spent most of his time on the DL and in the lousy 5.2 innings he did pitch in Triple-A, he ended up with a 14.29 ERA.

Sure, he had some good moves over the years. But ultimately, Amaro ran this team straight into the ground. They now sit in last place in all of baseball with little sign of improvement in the near future. Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock will fill in for Amaro until the new GM is chosen. Let us all hope the Phillies are smart enough to find a modern GM, instead of another blast from the past.

A few days ago, the Phillies completed a trade with the Nationals for Jonathan Papelbon. I am not sure if anyone in Philly is really sad to see Papelbon and his crotch-grabbing, fan-hating attitude go. But the Cole Hamels trade announced last night is a different story. It is bittersweet to see one of the best pitchers in Philly go to the Rangers, but the trade is in the best interest of all involved. There was no need to let Hamels waste away on a rebuilding team; he is now on a team that at least has a chance of winning this year or in the very near future.

And Hamels will not be going to Texas alone; lefty reliever Jake Diekman is joining him. Diekman has had a very up and down (mostly down) year so this is probably not a huge loss for the Phillies. Although, I really liked Diekman; he was one of the friendlier guys on the team and also has great potential as a pitcher. But he has struggled with throwing strikes and the Phillies’ patience wore out.

The Hamels trade is not technically “official” yet, but all media reports say the deal is nearly final. The prospects the Phillies are expected to get in return include a pretty good catching prospect, Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Nick Williams. The other three players are pitchers who are very young and have a ways to go before we will know their worth. The Phillies also reportedly will get 29-year-old lefthander Matt Harrison who is working his way back from back surgery. It is likely that portion of the trade will be a bust so let’s hope the youngsters are better.

So while it is sad to see Hamels go, I wish him luck. Unless, of course, he is pitching against the Phillies. Then all bets are off.

A recent article in The New Yorker described going down the rabbit hole as “a bizarre and disorienting alternate reality.” That perfectly describes how many Phillies fans feel at the halfway point of the 2015 season. We followed the Phillies here and have now fallen into the proverbial, Alice in Wonderland-esque rabbit hole.

This team is such a departure from that of the 2008-2011 teams that watching them really does feel like a bad acid trip. The Phillies are dead last in all of baseball with a 29-62 record. Their closer, Jonathan Papelbon, cannot stop yelling to the media about how badly he wants to be traded. Cole Hamels is pitching like a man who has given up on life. And their manager, Ryne Sandberg, ran screaming from his duties, despite the obvious detriment to his career by doing so.

But the most depressing part of the season has been the lightning fast decline of Chase Utley’s career. According to the general manager, Utley is no longer the starting second baseman, even after he comes off the disabled list. This is officially the end of Phillies baseball as we knew it. Indeed, an alternate reality that is painful to watch.

But even with Utley’s downfall, there was no reason to think the Phillies would be THIS bad, as in 62 losses bad, the worst half way mark in team history. There is a lot of young talent here, like Maikel Franco. Ben Revere is hitting .297 with 21 stolen bases and 45 runs scored. Ryan Howard has hit 15 home runs and has 45 RBI, which is really pretty good considering he is on the tail end of his career. Papelbon has been perfect in saves, although he has had limited opportunities. But most of the pitching has be atrocious. Even so, this team should have won more than 29 games, given their talent.

Perhaps Pat Gillick’s pre-season declaration about this team not being able to compete for several years has created a culture of losing? And not only that, but the team seems to have accepted this. They are not showing any fight, maybe because they simply expect to lose. They are just collecting their fat paychecks and then going home. And if this attitude continues, attendance will continue to drop to levels where you can hear crickets chirping. Hopefully, the Phillies will emerge from their slumber in the second half and at least put on a good show. Then again, that could just be the psychedelic acid talking.

Today I wondered if the following scenario has ever happened in baseball before: A middle relief pitcher gets a game win on the same day that a tee shirt with his name, number and face on it is given away to fans. That is what occurred today in a 6-4 Phillies win over the San Francisco Giants for reliever Ken Giles. Giles pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 3 Giants to keep the Phillies in line for the victory.

Sean O’Sullivan started the game and actually, despite his struggles, did fairly well. He allowed 3 runs in 6 innings for a quality start and also helped at the plate with a sacrifice bunt. The Phanatic tried to help out before the game by squatting on top of Giants players, but the molestation turned out to be unnecessary. Although, the Phanatic gets an A for effort.

The Phillies actually found some offense today, which was a nice change. After hitting a grand slam last night, Jeff Francour followed that up with a 2-run pinch-hit triple today. Both Maikel Franco and Odubel Hererra hit solo homers. And Cody Asche also collected 2 RBI in the game.

Once Giles got the Phillies through the 7th and 8th innings, Jonathan Papelbon came in for the save. After he committed an error to extend the inning and gave up 1 unearned run, Papelbon did finally shut the door on the Giants to salvage one game in this series.

The Phillies head to Cincinnati next for a 3-game series with the Reds.

It’s a miracle! The Phillies have won 5 consecutive games! So I learned many things at today’s Phillies game. First, this team can actually win games. Next, Jonathan Papelbon has a tramp stamp and Odubel Herrera can fly.

And finally, getting hit in the face with a ball hurts. Sean O’Sullivan does not recommend it. Perhaps next time, catcher Cameron Rupp will wait to toss the ball until someone is actually paying attention? Just a thought.

Aside from that little once every several decades incident, O’Sullivan had a great day. He pitched 6 scoreless innings and earned his first major league win since the 2011 season. And he was finally healthy; until, of course, Rupp whacked him in the face. But he seemed to be okay afterwards.

Ben Revere led the offense with 3 hits, a walk and an RBI; he is starting to look like the guy who almost won a batting title last year. And Maikel Franco has certainly added some excitement the Phillies line-up. In addition to a triple, he hit his first major league home run today. Darin Ruf also homered and had 2 hits. And even Ryan Howard helped out with a pinch-hit single in the 7th.

Obviously, this team needed a spark and maybe Franco is that guy. Although, I still think Cody Asche got a raw deal being sent to the minors to “learn” left field. He could have done that just as easily here. That brings us to the most awkward part of the day; the Asche whiffle ball and bat set that was handed out to kids entering the gates today. Too bad Cody had to miss it.

And now for the O-M-G moment of the day: After the game, Chad Billingsley was put on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. So after two elbow surgeries and only 3 starts with the Phillies, Billingsley could well be done. Hector Neris has been recalled to take his place on the roster.